University News

March 29, 2012

MACOMB, IL – It will be all about the five "Ds" at Western Illinois University the morning of April 14. The immortal words of Patches O'Houlihan —" If you're going to become true dodgeballers, then you've got to learn the five Ds of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!" — from the 2004 comedy "Dodgeball," have inspired a few students enrolled in Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA) Paul Schlag's 230 course ("Leadership in Leisure Services") to organize a dodgeball tourney for a good cause.

The "Patches O'Houlihan Dodgeball Tourney," scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 14 in the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center, is a fundraiser for Macomb Project H.O.P.E. (Help Our People Eat). According to Zach Glasgow, a junior RPTA major (Burlington, IA), he and some of his classmates are organizing the double-elimination tourney as part of a requirement for their class.

"For the course, we are assigned to develop a program to benefit the community," Glasgow explained. "We chose to organize a fundraiser and donate to H.O.P.E. because it helps local people who are not as fortunate as many of us are."

Glasgow said the tourney is open to all Western students and that each team will face an opposing team in a best-of-three match.

"The winner of a match will advance in the winners' bracket, and the losing team will go to the loser's bracket. The registration fee is $5 per team member, and the fee will be due one half-hour before the tournament begins," he added.

To register, team captains need to email Glasgow at ZL-Glasgow@wiu.edu and include:

Team Name

Team Members' Names (6-10 individuals per team)

Glasgow said that if an individual wants to participate but does not have a team, he or she can also send him an email message and he will assign that individual to a team.

Refreshments will be served following the tourney.

Students in Schlag's class who are also organizing the tourney include: